As you gents have rightly pointed out, we've got a few gaping holes in our timeline. The SOG Powerplier and Pocket Powerplier, as well as the Gerber MPT, are all missing from the list for the simple reason that we don't know exactly when they were first introduced. We know all three came out sometime in the mid-1990's, but the exact year is uncertain.

Heh heh, funny story, but last year at the Shot Show I thought we were finally going to solve one of the mysteries. I was browsing around one of the manufacturer's booths - can't recall exactly which one - alongside a gentlemen I had never met before. It was obvious that we were both interested in the new multitools, so we struck up a conversation. Turns out this was the guy - THE ACTUAL GUY! - who is credited with inventing the Gerber sliding pliers mechanism! Whew what a rush! He only had time for a couple of stories, about the early days when it was just the old Gerber Multi-Plier going head-to-head against the Leatherman PST, and boy were they some fascinating stories! But ahh, we'll save those for another thread. So anyhow, at some point I did ask him about introduction dates, which have always been a little unclear for the Gerber tools, including the MPT, but unfortunately it seems there were no good records kept of when the various Gerber tools came out. He remembered it was in the mid-90's for the MPT, but we already knew that. So anyhow, best I can do is keep watching for old Gerber sales brochures and literature to show up on eBay and try to gather up what data I can from them.

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In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools

While the wayback machine can help greatly, early 90s is a difficult time because few pages were archived and nobody had a big internet presence. One thing that really helps is to do a Trademark search on the name of the tool. I come up with 5/30/1995 as the first use of the MPT trademark. I found this out using trademarkia.com. Here's the link: https://www.trademarkia.com/mpt-74641492.html

First I searched by Gerber. Fiskars owns Gerber. So I searched the trademarks that Fiskars owns or has owned. And MPT came up. You an also just do a search for MPT, and then weed through the results. (It's near the end of the list).

It's not the best search engine, but it works well enough to find out useful information on our beloved tools.

I have detailed information on Coast fixed-plier multi tools that I'll be posting in its own thread, with descriptions and how to determine the year of the tool, changes made, etc. I've only completed the original plier tool, the newer version with the different plier I am still researching, but I have basic info on that as well. Would you want to add the basic release information for this tools to to this timeline?

I have detailed information on Coast fixed-plier multi tools that I'll be posting in its own thread, with descriptions and how to determine the year of the tool, changes made, etc. I've only completed the original plier tool, the newer version with the different plier I am still researching, but I have basic info on that as well. Would you want to add the basic release information for this tools to to this timeline?

I'm going to split this up by the plier types, because it can get very confusing otherwise. Coast re-used the names and model numbers of the early pliers when they made the 2nd generation (what I call type-2) pliers.

1996 Coast builds new type of blunt-nosed fixed plier tool for the Nature Company (Model 771139). Tool has thin plastic scales with red buttons holding them on instead of screws. Still made in Taiwan.

1997 Coast makes a Chrysler-branded version of what will eventually be called the "Pro Pocket Mechanic" for the 1997 Chrysler Master Tech Gold Tool Award, given by Chrysler to techs who completed all the required training courses in 1997. This tool has LED scales.

1998 Needle-nosed "Pro Pocket Mechanic" with LED scales. First direct evidence of "Pro Pocket Mechanic" branding since the Sharper Image tool. (Even though the tool obviously existed in 1997, I do not believe it was called the Pro Pocket Mechanic until 1998). Has a coast-branded ballistic nylon sheath.

2002 "Pro Pocket Mechanic" model PMG2500CP. Blunt nosed with gator grip and oversized sheath. This version was definitely made in China. It is the only version of the type 2 pliers I have found that has either Coast branding or country of origin etched on the blades. Quality has received a large bump with this version. Some of these are sold with a sheath with "Endeavor" stitched in red, some with "Coast Pro Pocket Mechanic" stitched in red.

2003 Needle-nosed "Pro Pocket Mechanic" now has a part number: PPM2500. Still has LED scales and a coast-branded sheath.

2003 Coast makes an "Endeavor"-branded version of the Pro Pocket Mechanic. Rubberized scales (no LED), blunt-nosed plier head. Model ETC-400, sold with a "Gator Grip" socket and sheath by the Endeavor Tool Company. Was sold through 2011, after which it was a special-order item (you had to call a phone number) I am unsure when they stopped selling it special order. The page existed until early 2017, after which it was removed from the Endeavor website. However, I do not believe it was linked to by the endeavor website for that entire time.

2005 was the last year for all of the pocket and sport mechanic tools. In 2006 they are no longer listed on the Coast Cutlery website. The only tool that remains is the ETC-400 sold by the Endeavor Company.

NOTE: Early images on the Coast website show drawings of the Pro Pocket Mechanic with a can opener and red-buttoned (LED-less) scales, but I have yet to encounter one of these in the wild.

NOTE2: There were two Brookstone-branded versions of the Type 2 Pocket Mechanic. I am unsure what years they were sold. They are springless and have a differently-shaped plier jaw. One has black plastic scales (no LED) and one has metal scales.

NOTE3: There is a miniature Pocket Mechanic made by Barlow. It looks like a type 1 pocket mechanic, but has the type 2 LED scale and is the size of a Micro ToolClip. Coast and Barlow have a history of working together, so this may be a licensed product.

NOTE4: There is also a minature Brookstone tool that looks like the larger Brookstone pliers, but is also the size of a Micro ToolClip.

NOTE5: To my knowledge, there was never a Coast-branded type 1 "Pro Pocket Mechanic". Only the Sharper Image got that designation. Coast used the "Pro" designation for the new plier head, and sold the old Pocket Mechanic and Sport Mechanic along side the new needle-nosed Pro Pocket Mechanic for some time.

That's what I've got. I'm a very confident of the type 1 plier history. The type 2 is a little shakier. The dates for the type 2 should be fairly close, but I believe there may be missing off-brands for the type 2 pliers, and I'm not entirely sure when production was moved from Taiwan to China.

I've based my research on the wayback machine (archive.org), trademark history, magazine articles, google image search, and archived newspapers (specifically the advertisements), as well as actual eBay purchases and the eBay completed items history.

I should probably have made an addendum. In 1993 the Pocket Mechanic was marked "Patent Pending" on the main blade. The patent was either denied, or it was abandoned by Coast. Subsequent models have a pattern number on the blade, "PAT.39994". This is a proprietary number and David C. Brands (the inventor) said he couldn't tell me what it meant, as it was Coast's confidential information. The 1993 model also had problems with the backspring phillips driver being extremely difficult to extend, and then rounding off and no longer staying in the closed position. It was fixed very quickly. There are other identifying marks and information from year to year, but I will post all of that separately in a (very large) separate post.